


What Exactly is an Urbex?

by Tanist



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Sport. Urbexing.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 17:04:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17165861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanist/pseuds/Tanist
Summary: Mikkel attempts to explain an Old-World Danish sport to the rest of the team, with dubious success.





	What Exactly is an Urbex?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mebediel](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Mebediel).



> A look at how the present day sport of Urbexing would appear to the team, who do very similar things for a living, and would, I think, be very puzzled by people doing it for fun!. Urbexing is very popular in our-world Denmark, so Mikkel may well have heard or read about it. 
> 
> This story was written as a gift for Mebediel in the 2018 Forum Secret Santa.

WHAT EXACTLY IS AN URBEX?

“What exactly is an Urbex”? Lalli asked Emil in the quiet of Emil’s Dreamworld haven. He had really been trying to follow the conversation between Mikkel, Sigrun, Reynir and Emil as Mikkel tried to explain to the others about some weird old-world sport called, he thought, Urbexing, but his weariness after a strenuous night of exploration and dodging danger had overcome him so that he dozed off, leaning on Emil’s warm shoulder as he listened. Emil soon joined him in sleep while the others talked on. 

The team were gathered in Sigrun’s temporary quarters on the Keuruu base while they waited for details of their next assignment. Lalli had volunteered to go back to his old job as a night scout while they waited, because he couldn’t stand to do nothing useful for long, and Onni was spending a lot of time conferring with the other Finnish mages on the base and working on his combat skills, because this time he intended to go with them into the Silent World. Onni had no intention of losing his remaining young relative if his presence on the next expedition could prevent this. 

“I don’t think Urbex is the name of a thing.” Emil went on. “More like the name of this sport Mikkel is talking about. And it sounds like a really strange sport, too. If I understood what he was talking about, which isn’t easy with the way he mumbles as if he had a potato halfway down his throat, it was really popular in Denmark back in the old times before the Rash. No idea why. It doesn’t sound like anything I would call a sport, not like archery, or football, hockey, bowling or marathon running. Maybe a bit like orienteering? Anyway, the idea seems to have been that people playing it would explore places, often places they weren’t supposed to go, like abandoned factories, haunted houses, old drains and tunnels and sewers, disused hospitals and laboratories and military bases. Sometimes dangerous places, he said, though it doesn’t sound very dangerous to me - there were no trolls or beasts or giants back then, and only the ordinary diseases you might catch in dirty neglected places, things like tetanus from cutting yourself on old rusty metal, or infections from drinking dirty water.”

“Strange kind of sport” Lalli agreed. “And how would a player know if they had won? Did they keep score by how many of these places they survived, or what? Or by how much treasure they brought back? And was it played in teams, or by single players?”.

“No idea. If it was a team sport I suppose it might have been fun, just hanging out with your friends in places with a lot of history to talk about. But I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as a single-player sport. It would be kind of sad, wandering through places where people used to live, or used to work, or where exciting things once happened. Almost like the Silent World.

As for scoring, I don’t know for sure; I think they had some kind of honour system? I know they took photographs and kept diaries, so maybe they compared those? No treasure though. I remember Mikkel told me about some rule they had, something about leaving nothing but your footprints, and taking away nothing but photographs and memories, partly for respect, partly because a lot of those places were technically someone’s property, so that would be theft.”

Lalli frowned, puzzled. “It sounds kind of useless to me. Sort of like what a scout does, or what we were doing in the Silent World, but with nothing to show for all that effort. Though I suppose the players might get practise in useful skills, like in target shooting?”

“No, Lalli, not that either. I don’t think they even went armed, except for maybe a knife. Their cities didn’t have many wild animals, and they didn’t fight other players, or I don’t think they did? I should ask Mikkel.”

“Don’t bother! It doesn’t sound like a sport I would ever want to play. Pointless. And too much like work. And we probably should wake up soon - I think the rest of the crew are moving, and it must be nearly lunchtime. Maybe today somebody will tell us where we go next?” 

For a moment Lalli snuggled into the warmth and comfort that was Emil, then he stretched, opened his eyes and woke to the light of late morning.


End file.
